Apriem Advisors Purchases 144,029 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Apriem Advisors boosted its position in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 2,528.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 149,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 144,029 shares during the quarter. Apriem Advisors’ holdings in Copart were worth $6,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. increased its stake in shares of Copart by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 23,989 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Copart during the third quarter worth about $824,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Copart by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102 shares during the period. X Square Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Copart by 73.3% during the third quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 92,084 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,141,000 after buying an additional 38,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 1.1% in the third quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 40,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,815,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total value of $1,009,753.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,970 shares in the company, valued at $2,248,314.90. This trade represents a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. CJS Securities raised shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Copart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $32.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Copart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.40.

Copart Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of CPRT stock opened at $35.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $34.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10 and a beta of 1.08. Copart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.81 and a 52-week high of $63.85. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.38 and its 200 day moving average is $42.45.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Copart Profile

Copart (NASDAQ: CPRT) is a global provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services, focused primarily on the sale of salvage and clean-title vehicles. The company operates a technology-driven auction platform that connects sellers — including insurance companies, vehicle finance firms, rental car companies, dealerships and fleet owners — with a broad buyer base consisting of vehicle dismantlers, recyclers, rebuilders and retail buyers. Copart’s business model centers on efficient vehicle disposition using digital bidding and logistics services to maximize recovery value for its clients.

Core services include hosting live and timed online auctions, vehicle listing and inspection support, title processing, and transportation and storage solutions.